Introduction to WWII

Adapted from McIntyre at

http://worldhistory.pppst.com

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Key Concept: What were the four main causes of WWII? Give an example of each.

•Treaty

•of

•Versailles

1. Failure of the Treaty of VersaillesGermany’s borders were changed, and its economy was bankrupted by reparations payments.

4. Appeasement and Isolationism:England and France were still recovering from WWI and unsuccessfully tried to use diplomacy to stop Hitler. Some countries, such as the United States, isolated themselves to try to avoid being drawn into other nations’ wars.

3. Nationalism:Extreme nationalism gave rise to Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany and caused Japan to colonize Asia.

2. Economic Factors:All countries suffered the effects of the Great Depression, and people blamed their governments and sought change.

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Quick Facts

A. War Costs1. US Debt 1940 - $9 billion

US Debt 1945 - $98 billion

• The war cost $330 billion -- 10 times the cost of WWI & as much as all previous federal spending since 1776

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Quick Facts:

B. Human Costs1. 50 million people died

(compared to 15 million in WWI)

• 21.3 million Russians (7.7 million civilians)

• 11 million died as a result of the HOLOCAUST(6 million Jews + 5 million others)

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When?

1939

Sept.1 - Germany invades Poland (official start to the war)

Sept. 3 -Britain &

France declare war on

Germany

Dec. 7 – Japan

bombs Pearl Harbor; US enters the

War

1941

May - Germans Surrende

r

Sept. - Atomic

Bombing of

Hiroshima &

Nagasaki,

Japanese Surrende

r

1945

•1939-1945

•US involvement 1941-1945

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Who?

Allies Axis

Great Britain

France(note: France surrendered to

Germany in 1940 (after 6 weeks of fighting)

United States

Russia

GermanyItaly

Japan

(major powers)

(major powers)

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Major Leaders

Adolf HitlerNazi Germany

Benito MussoliniItaly

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Major Leaders

Hideki TojoJapanese Prime Minister

Winston ChurchillBritish Prime Minister

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Major Leaders

Franklin Delano RooseveltUS President

Joseph StalinRussian Leader

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Why? (underlying causes of WWII)

1. Failure of Treaty of VersaillesA. Germany lost land to surrounding nations and wanted them back.

B. War Guilt Clause1) Germany forced pay $57

trillion (modern equivalent). These payments bankrupted the

German economy and left them hopeless and embarrassed.

C. The U.S. Congress rejected the treaty. embarrassed Germans

Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson during negotiations for the

Treaty of Versailles

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Why?

2. Economic FactorsA. The Depression made Germany’s debt even worse.

B. Desperate people turn to leaders who make them feel better about themselves and put the blame on others. In this case, Hitler blamed

the former government, Jews, foreigners, communists, Roma (Gypsies), the mentally ill, and homosexuals.

C. Similar situations existed in other countries such as Italy.

1923 - Wallpapering with German

Deutschmarks

1938- Evidence of Kristallnacht, or the Night of the Broken Glass

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Why?

3. NationalismA. Extreme nationalism gave rise to Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany and caused Japan to colonize Asia.

B. It is an extreme form of having pride in one’s country. It creates a situation in which people think, “My country and people are the best, we deserve the best, and we’re going to take it from you.”

C. To support nationalism, countries increase their military strength to get what they want.

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Why? 4. Appeasement and IsolationismA. Why was the U.S. isolationist? 1. The Great Depression

caused economic problems in the U.S. 2. Perceptions of WWI:

a. WWI did not seem to solve much and cost

too much in money and lives.

3. People thought that the U.S. got into WWI for the wrong reasons (greedy

businessmen!).B. This led to “Appeasement.”

1. Appeasement: give dictators what they want and hope

that they won’t want anything else.

2. Appeasements included allowing the Japanese

invasion of Manchuria, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, and Germany’s invasion of

taking of part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland.

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Rise of Totalitarian Regimes

In a Totalitarian country, individual rights are not viewed as important as the needs of the nation. The government controls every aspect of public and private life.

Totalitarianism

Communist Dictatorship

(USSR)

Fascist Dictatorship

(Germany, Italy)

Military Dictatorship

(Japan)

Fascism: military government with

based on racism & nationalism with strong support

from the business community

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What else did Hitler get?

• Hitler peacefully annexed (took

over) Austria in 1938.

• Hitler signed a nonaggression pact with the USSR.

• They agreed not to fight each other

and split Poland between them

• Hitler would later break the pact and attack the USSR.

• The USSR then became one of the Allies fighting

Germany.

Hitler's triumphal entry into Danzig, Poland 1939

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How Did Hitler Make War?Blitzkrieg = “Lightning War”

In the next year, Hitler invades:

• Denmark

• Norway

• The Netherlands

• France

Hitler in Paris

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US Assistance

Roosevelt provided aid to the Allies:

Lend-Lease - 1939

• US “lent” war materials to cash-strapped Great Britain

London Firefighter Tackles an Air Raid Blaze

Atlantic Charter

• US secretly meets with England to commit to defeating Germany

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Meanwhile … in the Pacific

Pearl Harbor: “a date which will live in infamy”

USS Arizona sinking in Pearl Harbor

What?

• Surprise attack by the Japanese on American forces in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Effect? • US declares war on

Japan & other Axis powers

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Key Concept: What were the four long-term effects of WWII? Give an example of each.

Effect Examples

Power Shifts U.S. and U.S.S.R become world powers, replacing England and Germany.

Tensions Rise

Arms Race and Cold War begin.

Communism Spreads

U.S.S.R. sets up satellite nations in Eastern Europe.

Hope Survives

United Nations and Marshall Plan implemented.